The emphasis on social media means less money devoted to conventional advertising. Liz Elser, brand manager for the Fiesta line, says “TV won’t be a huge part of this campaign.” Social media has grown since 2009. Ford PR rep Dan Mazei explained that four years ago, “Instagram didn’t exist. We didn’t have these short-form video platforms like Vine. There are all these new ways they can get the content out there.”

As with the original Fiesta Movement, Ford is using 80 bloggers they’re calling “agents“, some of whom are professional entertainers. The advocates were chosen based on the number of online followers they have. For some reason, Ford selected fewer Fiesta agents than the 100 that they announced back in February. It doesn’t appear that many of the agents are over the age of 30. Ford says that they are not compensated with money but they do get free use of the cars, including gasoline and insurance.

The Fiesta Movement agents are expected to take to the streets and highways of America, shoot photos and make videos of their experiences in the mid-cycle-refreshed Fiesta and then post them on the aforementioned social media sites. As Elser said, Ford may be holding back on their TV buys for the Fiesta launch but since most people still do watch television in some form some of the agent created content will also end up as TV ads on shows with a youthful audience, like ESPN’s X Games or American Idol (for which Ford already is a major sponsor).

In the 2009 Fiesta Movement, Ford’s good will agents drove their Fiestas more than a million miles, created more than 50,000 pieces of content, and generated nearly 30 million views through social media. It’s not known exactly how many Fiestas they helped sell. Ford, obviously, was not displeased with the results since they’re doing it again.

If history, generally speaking, & Hyundai in particular & as an example in the context of auto manufacturers’ fortunes in terms of rates of success are any guide, Ford would be FAR better off investing in the processes & procedures that will dramatically improve the reliability of its cars & trucks currently sold, rather than FOCUSING on curating Jimmy Fallon tweets, F(I)estive marketing, and other ill-advised social media crap campaigns.

Ford now sells 6 of the 10 LEAST RELIABLE vehicles one can purchase today (and yes, this index includes JLR products), according to the latest data from Consumer Reports:

I always find these pushes very interesting, considering how many people outside the target market actually buy the cars. Almost every newish subcompact I’ve seen is driven by people who are in it for the cheap practicality, mostly over the age of 50.

I’m 34, and almost all of my 20-something friends are more aspirational — they’re the ones stretching their budgets to drive an Infiniti G or an Audi A4. Ego and image trumps pragmatism, but don’t tell the marketers (of which I am a reformed one…).

Having bought a Fiesta during the first Fiesta Movement, all I can say it was a vary disapointing experience. Told about special treatment, updates on build dates, shipping and the like. None of that happened. The standard reply was to contact your dealer. Plus they really didn’t sell many Fiesta’s. Still don’t. One last cheap shot. The car, while a good design, good mileage, quiet etc has been a piece of junk. Ten unscheduled repairs to date. Worst new car I ever had. My wifes Caravan, two years older and more miles has had zero issures. Last Ford for me.

The Fiesta Movement, sounds like the right name for a car that (at least for us) was the biggest steaming pile of crap and put us off of Ford for probably the next decade–if not for life.

13 visits to the dealer for transmission issues in less than 6 months. Lemon law’d because Ford didn’t want to do the right thing and offer to buy it back until the BBB had to get involved. Instead they continued to assert there was nothing wrong with the PowerShift AT.

The PowerShift stories have scared me off from shopping for a Fiesta or Focus.

I want an autoshifting box in my small car. I’m also willing to pony up for a nicer interior and some features to keep me amused during my long commute. But leaky seals – for which the fix is the same seal – have crossed the Ford autobox off my list.